Sugar Bowl 2015: Keys to Victory in Alabama vs. Ohio State Playoff Clash

This might sound like a cliche, but just participating in the Sugar Bowl signifies a remarkable feat for the Ohio State Buckeyes.

The heavy underdog heading into Thursday's showdown against the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide, Urban Meyer's club lost starting quarterback Braxton Miller early in the season, only to see his sensational replacement, J.T. Barrett, go down right before the end.

Yet the Buckeyes captured the inaugural College Football Playoff's fourth and final spot by dismantling the Wisconsin Badgers for the Big Ten crown. Meyer praised his team's resolve to ESPN.com's Austin Ward:

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Incredible year, a year that if you would have told me back in August when I saw our starting quarterback go down that this would happen, I would have said, 'Not yet.' You just never can devalue the chemistry on a team, the closeness of a team. And then when you deal with tragedy and other things that our team has experienced throughout the year, it was a learning experience. I learned more from our players maybe this year than in a long time.

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As a reward for their hard work, the Buckeyes play the 12-1 Crimson Tide, who are armed with their usual suffocating defense and one of their most explosive offenses in years. After getting shunned from the title picture last year, they're now in the driver's seat to reclaim college football's throne.

Let's take a look at what needs to happen for each squad to celebrate New Year's Day with a victory.

When: Thursday, Jan. 1 at 8:30 p.m. ET

Where: Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana

Watch: ESPN/WatchESPN

Alabama vs. Ohio State Stats

Alabama's Key to Victory: Don't Lose Turnover Battle

Look at the pretty table above, and the tale of the tape doesn't give Ohio State much reason for optimism besides a slightly superior passing game now operating without Barrett. There's only one notable advantage for Ohio State, which boasts a plus-nine turnover margin to Alabama's minus-one.

This is where you should be saying, "But the Buckeyes recovered 21 fumbles all season. Fumble recoveries are more luck than skill." Very true. There's a craft involved to stripping balls loose, but no linebacker possesses the sorcery to control how it then bounces.

Jamie Sabau/Getty Images

For a heavy favorite like the Crimson Tide to lose, such fortune would have to turn against them. Notice it doesn't even say "Win Turnover Battle." Shaking Cardale Jones could turn this match into a rout, but simply avoiding any mistakes on their end will ensure a victory.

Nick Saban preached the same philosophy in his own way before the SEC championship clash against Missouri. Per AL.com's Natalie Pierre, he encouraged quarterback Blake Sims to stay poised like a fictional character from a movie well before Sims' time:

Even with the reference lost on him, the junior went 23-of-27 passing for a cruising offense that generated 9.7 yards per play and secured the football. That rousing efficiency will earn the nation's top-ranked club a ticket to the championship.

In its only loss of the season, on the other hand, Alabama coughed up two turnovers to Mississippi State, including an interception in the end zone with under a minute left. Such game-changing plays are the only way to take down a ferocious powerhouse.

Ohio State's Key to Victory: Shut Down Run

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Thanks to Heisman finalist Amari Cooper, Alabama is far from a one-dimensional offense. Nick Saban's squad can hold its own through the air, but the smashmouth school has not ditched its old-fashioned roots.

The Crimson Tide still produce 209 yards per game through the ground, led by 10 touchdowns apiece from T.J. Yeldon and Derrick Henry. Each rusher enters the playoff bout averaging over five yards per carry.

Nobody is going to eliminate Cooper from the fold, so the Buckeyes instead must prevent any further damage by silencing Alabama's rushing attack. Although not outstanding in that category, they recently stifled the nation's premier runner.

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Wisconsin's Melvin Gordon entered the Big Ten title game with 10 straight 120-yard rushing games, scoring 27 touchdowns in the process. Against Ohio State, he mustered just 76 yards on 26 carries during a 59-0 laugher.

Yet two weeks earlier, Indiana's Tevin Coleman burned the Buckeyes for 228 rushing yards and three scores. Heading into Thursday, nobody knows which unit to expect.

Replicating the latter effort will yield disastrous results, as combining a hearty rushing attack with the pairing of Sims and Cooper will force replacement quarterback Jones to carry Ohio State through a shootout.

Keep Yeldon and Henry at bay, and the green signal-caller at least has a fighting chance to lead his club to an upset.